Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

1 tsp soft brown sugar

500ml beef stock

Method

Make the batter: Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Tip flour into the large mixing bowl and stir in the mustard powder with a good pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, crack in the egg, then pour in a dribble of milk. Stir with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating some of the flour, until you have a smooth batter in the well. Now add a bit more milk and continue stirring until all the milk and flour has been mixed together.

The batter is ready: You should now have a smooth, lump-free batter that is the consistency of double cream. Tip it back into the jug you measured your milk in, for easier pouring later on, then stir in the thyme. Use scissors to snip the links between your sausages, then drop them into a 20 x 30cm roasting tin. Add 1 tbsp of the oil, tossing the sausages in it to thoroughly coat the base of the tin, then roast in the oven for 15 mins.

Cook the batter: Take the hot tray from the oven, then quickly pour in the batter – it should sizzle and bubble a little when it first hits the hot fat. Put it back into the oven, then bake for 40 mins until the batter is cooked through, well risen and crisp. If you poke the tip of a knife into the batter in the middle of the tray it should be set, not sticky or runny.

Make the gravy: Soften the onions with the remaining oil in a large nonstick frying pan for about 20 mins, stirring often, until they are golden brown. Sprinkle in the sugar for the final 5 mins. Add the spoonful of flour, then cook, constantly stirring, for 2 mins, so it coats the onions and there is no dry flour left. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring well to make a smooth sauce. Bubble for 4-5 mins to thicken, then season. Cut the toad in the hole into large wedges and serve with the gravy spooned over.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments (148)

jade_z12th Nov, 2016

0

Stupidly tried this recipe a number of times and thought it was my fault for using proper mustard and not powder. On reading the comments today I've managed to avert disaster by adding less milk and more eggs. I had read somewhere recently that eggs are the most vital component which made me realise that the recipe is probably wrong! It is!

Me too. My faith in my cooking ability has at least been restored by these comments, knowing that the unmitigated disaster was not entirely my fault. Thankfully I was close enough to the oven to detect the smell of burning after 25 minutes so ours was at least marginally edible!!

I didn't read the comments before I made this, but am relieved to report that for me it was a big success. It rose well and tasted great. Looking at the other comments it looks like I must have got very lucky.

Very poor recipe. One egg is not nearly enough. Nigella recommends 4 eggs for 300 ml of liquid, Jamie Oliver 3. Two is the absolute minimum. This batter is fine for scotch pancakes, but useless for puddings. Avoid!

Please someone from good food remove this recipe it really is a total disaster! I also wish I had read the comments - burnt, very flat batter which after 40 mins resembled scrambled egg underneath - DO NOT FOLLOW THIS RECIPIE!

Unfortunately, the missus followed this recipe without me knowing. I wondered if it had actually been tried but when you see the picture of a flat toad, you know the answer is yes. One egg amongst those other amounts is no way near anything that is actually going to work. The missus should know better. It's evens, cup of eggs, cup of flour, cup of milk. Wisk and refrigerate. Before use, add salt and white pepper, wish again. Do not open the oven until it's done.

The onion gravy was nice.The Toad was a unmitigated disaster. Who compiled this recipe - surely someone 'avin' a larf? I followed the recipe to the letter and rather wish I'd gone and got a Tesco Value one instead

This really does not work. I have made successful yorkshire puddings many times and this was a big failure. Use 'Sam's toad in the hole recipe' for batter - I have used that before and it works every time.

I made the batter before I read the reviews. Yes, this recipe does give a light (runny) batter but I did rest the batter for about an hour and maybe this helps with the rise? The batter was fluffy and puffy but the amount was possibly on the mean side for the size of dish. I used thick, butcher sausages and baked them in pre-heated oil for 5 mins before adding the batter and cooking for a further 40 mins.

I took a chance having read the previous comments but have to say that for me this recipe was a great success.I didn't ignore the comments altogether though and made small adjustments in that I used a 9 inch square tin and roasted the sausages (4 x M&S Posh Dogs which fitted nicely in the tin) for only 5 minutes before adding the batter and cooking for 40 minutes, i.e. 45 minutes in total. It was cooked to perfection.

The gravy was nice too although I didn't use as much as 500 ml of stock, just one Oxo cube and as much water as needed to reach the consistency we like. I will reduce the sugar to half a teaspoonful next time as my husband commented it was a bit sweet.

I read the comments before trying this recipe, and trawled through others too I find it turned out well, but I only used 200ml milk, and also pre-cooked the sausages for only 7 - 8 mins. I used 30 mins for the final cook and no problems, sausages not overcooked, yorkshire pud not burnt and cooked through properly. Gravy also very nice - will make again.

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Questions (2)

Hi there, thanks for getting in touch. As we're a British brand we don't provide American conversions but we are always looking to improve and expand our offering to our overseas customers. We have passed your feedback on to our strategy team for consideration.

Tips (4)

chr1s11st Feb, 2016

Had no problem with this, thought the batter a little thin so chucked in extra flour. I think I prefer my usual recipe of equal quantities flour egg milk as it is heartier and more of a traditional batter (thick base fluffy top). Some one commented that they thought the failed rises were due to using a wooden spoon to whisk....nahhhhh a wooden spoon was Granny's multi purpose kitchen tool long before whisks came along I always use a wooden spoon for whisking :)

I don't know what everybody is going nuts about - this recipe is amazing and so easy!Make sure you use quite a small but deep oven-proof dish, the one shown in the picture is far too large and flat and that is why the batter isn't rising and the sausages are burning. I used 10 pork sausages in a small, deep dish, so the dish looked full before the batter went in.Once the sausages have been in 15-20 minutes and the fat starts to seep out, then pour the batter in and this should almost completely emerse the sausages.I left this in for around 50 minutes and it was fine. If the batter starts to catch too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking.Absolutely delicious!

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